Before there was outlander.solsector.net there was... This thread

Plot: A man from another galaxy crash-lands on Earth during the time of the Vikings. By accident, he brings with him an alien predator that he must destroy with the help of a Viking tribe. [Sounds wierd enough it could be a lot of fun]

there are some IMDB COMMENTS from some extras about their experiences during the Newfoundland portion of the shoot, Some positive, some negative. However, the negative comments seem to stem more from the participants being ill prepared as opposed to actually a problem.

Film production brings Vikings back to Newfoundland
Last Updated: Friday, October 20, 2006 | 3:51 PM NT
CBC News
A millennium or so after Vikings reached Newfoundland shores, dozens of imitators have been walking the beaches of a Newfoundland harbour.

The film Outlander — a science-fiction thriller about a group of ninth-century Vikings who encounter an alien monster — has been shooting several sequences around Lark Harbour, in the Bay of Islands on Newfoundland's west coast.

"It really has that feel [with] the rocky cliffs and kind of mythic mountains and spectacular scenery that we want," said Don Carmody, an executive producer of the film.

"Maybe it doesn't look exactly like Norway, but we didn't want Norway, or we would have gone there," said Carmody, a veteran of Canadian-based film production whose recent credits include Chicago, Silent Hill and Lucky Number Slevin.

The Bay of Islands, with moss-draped hills and fjord-like waterways, is providing the backdrop for several scenes, including a Viking funeral, complete with a corpse-laden ship that is set on fire.

Don Carmody, an executive producer of Outlander, said the filmmakers were drawn to the scenery of Newfoundland's west coast.

Outlander, which has Passion of the Christ star Jim Cavaziel in a lead role, will feature about 150 local residents as extras. They were outfitted with beards, wigs and Viking costumes.

Production assistant Sarah Jene described the costumes as the most elaborate she has seen on a background cast.

"They brought a bunch of costumes over from Iceland, and everything else was custom-made," she said.

"You can see everything, from the real furs that are draped all about them and lining their boots. Each and every one of them is totally unique."

Filming in the Bay of Islands was scheduled to conclude Friday. The crew then moves to Halifax for about 10 weeks of shooting.

Outlander, which will be distributed by the Weinstein Co., is expected to be released in late 2007.

The set was built about 500 kilometres south of L'Anse aux Meadows, which was proven in the 1960s to be an actual Norse settlement, dating from about AD 1,000. It was designated as a United Nations world heritage site in 1978.

Archeological work in the L'Anse aux Meadows site has fostered speculation that Newfoundland was the legendary Vinland described in Viking sagas.

You are humanity’s last hope. Battle your way across the wasteland in combat driving and hand-to-hand sequences. When you are behind the wheel, you have four different views: front, rear, right, and left. Whether you’re driving or on foot, keep an eye out for vital supplies like water, food, and gas. Any time you encounter a bad guy use shot guns, machine guns, explosives, and rocket launchers to eliminate him. Thanks to an on-screen map, your progress will be tracked and you will never be lost. Make your way across the wasteland to save humanity in OUTLANDER.

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Why would a driving and hand-to-hand combat game have anything do to with Vikings and aliens?

I don't think we can really say one way or another. For whatever reasons, things didn't pan out for his last project and it never got off the ground. But Gaining experience behind the scenes in the movie buisness is certainly a beneficial endeavor if he does finally manage to make it to the helm again.

Another interesting bit I found on the net. Check out the blog entries for very detailed, technical comments on these pieces!:

Of the large number of cookware and tool replicas ordered by the team at Outlander, only the cauldron hanger is not a close approximation of an existing artifact. The hanger is based on elements directly taken from that found at Sutton Hoo (Saxon - c. 600). Strictly speaking, even this piece should be considered a modification and interpretation of the historic artifact, rather than an original design.

If you look over the content of past contributions to 'Hammered Out Bits', you will find that the majority of the postings relate to technical aspects of blacksmithing or metalworking, plus discussion of historic materials - both with a strong leaning to the Viking Age.

Those commentaries that relate to the ongoing Outlander project primarily confine themselves to technical aspects of the metalwork, and discussions of the source objects as they apply to the material culture of the Norse.

I actually have no knowledge of how any of the pieces will be utilized by Outlander Productions. I have not been given any information about the film, its production, or any aspects of its visual designs by anyone at Outlander Productions.

I was contacted about a week after I got home from the Goderich Celtic College and Festival by Ian Greg - a well known Halifax area set designer.

'Outlander' is a feature film being shot in Nova Scotia, with principle photography scheduled to start October 1. The story is set in Sweden circa the early Viking Age. Ian is in the process of building a small Norse village with about a dozen structures. Along with the chieftains hall and various other dwellings, there will be a blacksmith's shop. Ian has a reputation for attempting to get historical details as accurate as possible (given this IS the world of film!).

The plot of Outlander is best described as 'Beowulf meets Alien'. Add a science fiction twist to the ancient Saxon story of hero's and monsters. Make both the hero and the monster from a crash landed space ship. No technology other than what is local. Depending on how the story is treated, this could actually work quite well (but once again - this IS the world of film!)...

I have been asked to provide a wide range of historically accurate cookware and tools. All the pieces are being created to 'replica' standards - the forms are based in most cases on known artifacts. Most pieces are heavily forged mild steel, with things like arc welds used and then surface dressed to hide them. There are a wide range of cook pots of various sizes and materials. I will be taking a bit of effort on the decorative cauldron hanger, as I can see it may end up in a number of film shots.

Space Viking film, with a character called Boromir, cast in Newfoundland "because they didn't want Norway", backed by a production company that faces fraud and bankruptcy trials (VIP Medienfonds 4).

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Thurs., Sep. 29, 2005:

Munich prosecutors raided the homes and offices of Schmid and other top VIP execs as part of their tax accounting inquiry. The investigation involves only the tax accounting structure of funds VIP 3 and 4, but VIP said it was still pulling VIP 5 and 6 off the market.

"Out of a sense of responsibility toward our investors, we do not wish to incur any risk in this regard," company said in a statement. "We will unwind these funds and reimburse all investors the full amount of their investment, including commissions."

German tax authorities say funds VIP 3 and 4 were not set up properly, putting investors at risk. VIP funds' returns have fallen fall short of projections: VIP 3, for example, showed a return of only $645,000 rather than the forecasted $37 million.

VIP insists it vetted the tax structure with internationally renowned tax accountants and that the allegations are without merit.

Many are speculating that the inquiry is the latest tactic being employed to crack down on the film funds considering that legislation aimed at closing tax loopholes has stalled.
Germany's finance ministry, along with the socialist SPD government, has wanted to close this loophole for years. The pressure has taken its toll.

The film fund Mediastream IV, from the Dusseldorf-based IdeanKapital, was turned down by the ministry when it applied for its write-offs. IdeanKapital decided not to fight and moved out of film funding.

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This is over a year old. Maybe it helped delay this movie a bit but considering they've been filming for a week or two now I'm pretty sure they took all that into account. What kind of responsible producers would Chris Roberts and Co. be if they didn't take this into account, Especially when you've known about it for an *entire* year.

Regarding location: Have you been there? Do you know what kind of effort is involved in shooting in Norway? Do you understand the actual reasons for the picture being shot where it is? (they originaly were talking about shooting in New Zealand). Have you ever been to Newfoundland?

Taking one phrase (by an *executive* producer no less) without context isn't constructive. Most Hollywood movies are not shot on location and even so, It's impossible to shoot in actual 700 A.D. Norway or Sweden anyway. In which cases the land doesn't necessarily resemble that era any more anyway. It's also possible that there are other political issues involved that make filming in norway either to challenging or too expensive.

Regarding the name, I have no Idea and these names might not match the finished movie. Still, he isn't one of the leads.

Regarding location: Have you been there? Do you know what kind of effort is involved in shooting in Norway? Do you understand the actual reasons for the picture being shot where it is? (they originaly were talking about shooting in New Zealand). Have you ever been to Newfoundland?

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That's nothing, did you know that the new Battlestar Galactica isn't actually filmed in space? Shocking, but true.

Here's an interesting tale worth sharing from one of the extras (a rower actually) who goes by the handle mcjanes:

I was also an extra on the NL set, so let me share my experience (a POSITIVE experience).

I was hired as one of the rowers of the Viking boat. There were 20 of us, and we were called in a day before the rest of the extras (Monday). We were bussed out at 7am from Corner Brook. It was a great time for us to introduce ourselves and make friends. Most of the rowers were from the local rowing club and knew each other already, so as a "townie" who has only been living in Corner Brook for a few weeks, I started off feeling like a bit of an "outsider".

The rest of the rowers were just great people. We were sent to wardrobe as soon as we arrived, but weren't given any wigs or make-up that day. We got bussed to the shooting location (about 5 minutes away), and spend a lot of time waiting for us to be called. Pretty much that entire first day was dedicated to us rowers...we spent about an hour or more in the boat, testing it out to see how "sea worthyy" it was. Luckily, we had a great "captain" who barked orders at us, as well as a Dutchman to help us (he designed the rigging). Once the director, crew, and rowers were satisfied at how the boat handled, we were sent home at around 5:00.

Then came "Black Tuesday". I have to admit, the extras had it rough that day...the weather was absolutely putrid (huge winds, coooooold temperatures, even a halestorm at 6:30 in the morning). Fortunately, I didnt' take part in their misery....we rowers spent the entire day in the tent waiting to for the wind to die down, which it never did. We did get called around lunchtime to practice raising/lowering the sail while still docked at the wharf. Honestly, I would rathered I was a "regular" extra that day....sitting around for 14 hours doing nothing was pretty irritating. In retrospect, it's kind of a good thing they didn't film any "boat scenes"...us rowers were given the left-over wigs. My black hair and beard didn't exactly blend in with the red wig they gave me.

It's a shame we lost so many extras that day...but I chalk it up to them just not being prepared for that weather. If they had known they were going to be standing for 14 hours in a wet bog with little protection for their feet, they probably would have dressed more appropriately. But since Monday was just a beautiful day, it's understandable that they didn't.

The rest of the shoot was absolutely fantastic (weather-wise). On Wednesday, the sun was shining, and us rowers spent most of the day in the boat (we were given first-dibs on wigs that day, owing to our close-ups). Inside the harbour, the water was beautifully calm....then came the scene where we had to sail about 100 feet past the narrows into the open ocean, hoist the sail, and row back in. Those swells out there were pretty massive, I must say....well, they were only about 5 or 6 feet, but when you're out there in a ply-wood-framed boat, in seas like that for the first time, raising the somewhat-crude sail for the first time, it sure was an experience! We cracked two oars just from the waves alone...

On Thursday, we were finished with the boat, unfortunately, so we joined the rest of the extras on shore for the village scenes. Yes, there was a lot of standing around, but what do you expect on a movie set? Luckily, all the extras were all-around fanastic people.....some unbelievably hilarious ("Props...I need a smoke!"). The filming crew took great care of us, and were also very friendly (some more than others)

So yes, the weather was *beep* for one day, but the overall experience far outweighs that. I had blast, and I'm sure everyone else involved did too.

So for you NS extras, dress warmly (especially your feet...don't expect any soles on the "boots" they give you!), and have a blast....I sure did.